On March 30, 1775, Colonel Richard Henderson began his journey through the Cumberland Gap. Henderson started the trip with Colonel Benjamin Logan and immigrants from Virginia. The crew counted 50 by the time they reached Boonesborough.
On March 30, 1863, Union forces under General Quincy A. Gillmore defeated General John Pegram’s Confederate cavalry raid outside Somerset. Pegram’s cavalry had rounded up several hundred heads of cattle before Gillmore’s force caught up with them. Ultimately, Gillmore marched up Dutton’s Hill, where the Confederates made a stand.
March 30, 1922, Mayfield felt the 3rd earthquake in a week at 11:00 a.m. The tremors shattered windows and created more damage than the previous quakes felt earlier.
Saturday, March 30, 1929, Churchill Downs announced the Derby would be broadcast nationally with five announcers working for NBC. Four announcers would be on the quarter pole posts speaking into microphones buckled to their chests with field glasses. The 5th announcer gave the results. The previous year’s Derby had one announcer who followed the race from a grandstand perch. A barrier drop started the race.
March 30, 1930, dry agents shot 30-year-old Ambrose Williams, a Richmond farmer, in the back after they raided his home and found a small still and a gallon of whiskey. They shot him in the back as he was running away.
On March 30, 1949, a Federal Judge opened the doors of UK’s Graduate School to black students. He ruled blacks were entitled to entrance on the same basis as white students until the state provided a Graduate School for blacks that was “substantially equal.”
March 30, 1953, Army MSG Marshall H. McGee from Harlan County died in the Korean War.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Fort Knox native Joseph Paul “Joey” Sindelar, born in 1958.
March 30, 1964, Patrolman Leonard J. Garrison, Paris Police Department, succumbed to injuries suffered one month earlier when assaulted making an arrest at a local bar. A violent struggle ensued during the arrest causing a heart attack.
March 30, 1967, Marine Corps PFC James E. Price from Russellville in Logan County died in the Vietnam War.
On the morning of March 30, 1967, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to an overflow crowd at the UofL’s Brandeis School of Law. He came to town for a Southern Christian Leadership Conference and spoke to 1,200 people at the West Chestnut Street Baptist Church. As he spoke, he learned that police were arresting picketers at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. From the pulpit, King said, “We aren’t going to achieve our freedom sitting around waiting for it.” At that point, King, his wife, and his brother traveled to Lexington and led a march on Memorial Coliseum towards downtown Lexington.
March 30, 1968, Army SSG McKenley O. Matlock from Barbourville in Knox County and Marine Corps CPL Albert R. Sanford from Russellville in Logan County, both died in the Vietnam War.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Virginia bred Secretariat, born in 1970.
March 30, 1977, Lexington artist and poet Henry Faulkner displayed some of his paintings.
On March 30, 1978, days after Kentucky won the NCAA Championship, the Lexington Police wrapped up its book-making operations. Officers worked from four different apartments for eight months and accepted bets on everything and anything. They mostly took lay-off bets from other books. The detectives claimed it was the only known “Sting” or “Scam” operation conducted by police in the U.S.
On March 30, 1981, President R. Reagan survived an assassination attempt. The pistol bullet ricocheted off the side of his limousine and hit him in the left underarm, breaking a rib, puncturing a lung, and causing severe internal bleeding. Close to death upon arrival at George Washington University Hospital, they stabilized him in the E.R. before emergency surgery.
On March 30, 1983, ninety law enforcement officials raided private clubs, taverns, and homes in Daviess County. They searched for 52 people cited in 204 warrants stemming from a gambling investigation. Some of the clubs included Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legions, and Elk Lodges.
March 30, 1985, a packed Rupp Arena hosted the NCAA Men’s Final Four 1st round. Georgetown defeated St. John’s 77-59, and Villanova defeated Memphis State 52-45. Downtown Lexington may never have been so crowded.
On March 30, 1992, Boone County Rep. Bill McBee told a packed courtroom, “It wasn’t coffee, it was the F.B.I.” McBee tried to describe the day he got busted at the Drawbridge Hotel when he answered the hotel door expecting his coffee from room service. One of the many humorous BOBTROT quotes throughout the trial.
On March 30, 1996, in a rematch of an early-season loss, the Wildcats fought off a late rally from the Massachusetts Minutemen in the national semifinals. Pitino’s Cats advanced to the championship game for the first time in 18 years.
March 30, 1998, the Kentucky Wildcats won their 7th NCAA National Championship in the Alamodome. Tubby Smith’s Cats beat S.C. State, St. Louis, UCLA, Duke, Stanford (OT), and Utah 78-69. Jeff Sheppard received MVP honors. Kentucky came back from double-digit deficits in each of its last three games in the tournament, including a 17-point second-half comeback against Duke. This lead to the fans dubbing the team The Comeback Cats.
On March 30, 2000, the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrived in Louisville. When he landed, he called on the police to apologize to the Mayor for two marches they had conducted weeks earlier. The police marched to protest the Mayor’s firing of the Police Chief. Jackson said the specter of police officers marching with guns and badges was a frightening revolution. The Mayor fired the Chief after giving awards to two officers who killed Desmond Rudolph.
March 30, 2005, Army SPC Eric L. Toth, 21, of Edmonton, died fighting in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
On March 30, 2009, while UK President Lee Todd did not confirm John Calipari would be the next head coach, some concerned Florida lawmakers wanted to address the high numbers of Kentucky license plates lining up at the Sunshine State’s pill mills.
March 30, 2019, a Kentucky bred won the GI $1,000,000 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park for three-year-olds. The winner ran ten more races in Graded competition and placed 17th in the Derby.
March 30, 2020, Kentucky announced 42 new coronavirus cases and two new deaths, for a total of 480 positive cases and 11 deaths. Campbell County announced the 1st positive case from a Kentucky nursing home. In Frankfort, Governor A. Beshear signed an executive order instructing Kentuckians not to travel out of state. On the global front, the World Health Organization maintained that masks don’t provide protective benefits.
March 30, 2021, was the last session of the General Assembly in Frankfort. In a couple of last-minute bills, members passed legislation that would protect businesses from Covid-19 related lawsuits and a bill to shield personal information of various public officials.
9:30 p.m., March 30, 2022, the Senate, over protestors chanting, “Abortion is healthcare,” passed a hefty omnibus bill in the 11th hour that effectively ended access to abortion. The bill drew the line at the 15th week. Reproductive right citizens stated, “This bill ignores our constitutional rights, dismisses science, and contradicts public opinion.”